Set Default Values in a Sublist

This use case shows you how to set default values for fields in a sublist. These values are taken from custom field values on a different record type.

This project is available on the SuiteCloud Project Repository on Oracle Samples GitHub and include complete project customization setup with custom objects, unit tests, package file configuration, and more.

Scenario

You are the NetSuite administrator for your organization. You use the vendor record type to represent a vendor your organization works with, and you use the vendor bill record type to track bills for your vendors. You’ve added two custom fields to the vendor record type to store special department and class information for that vendor. When you edit a vendor bill record and change values in the item or expense sublists, you want to populate the Department and Class columns in the sublist with the custom field values from the associated vendor record.

Customization Details

The customization for this use case includes:

• Two custom fields (Department and Class) to hold department and class information for the vendor

• A client script triggered on the fieldChanged entry point

Steps in this tutorial to complete this customization:

• Before You Begin

• Step 1: Create the Custom Fields

• Step 2: Write the Script

• Step 3: Create the Script Record

• Step 4: Deploy the Script

• Step 5: Test the Solution

Before You Begin

The following table lists features, permissions, and other requirements necessary for performing this tutorial and implementing the solution:

Required Features	The following features must be enabled in your account: Client SuiteScript - This feature allows you to apply client scripts to records and forms. File Cabinet – This feature allows you to store your script files in the NetSuite File Cabinet. For more information, see Enabling Features.
Required Permissions	You will need a role with access to the following: Scripts - Edit access Script Deployments - Edit access Custom Entity Fields – Create access For more information, see NetSuite Permissions Overview
Other Requirements	None

Step 1: Create the Custom Fields

This customization uses two custom fields. The Custom Department field stores department information for a vendor. The Custom Class field stores class information for a vendor. Both fields are custom entity fields added to the vendor record.

To create the Custom Department field:

1. Go to Customization > Lists, Records, & Fields > Entity Fields > New.

2. Enter values for each field as listed in the following table:

   Field	Value
   Label	Custom Department
   ID	_custom_department NetSuite prepends ‘custentity’ to this ID.
   Description	Stores department information for a vendor.
   Type	List/Record
   List/Record	Department
   Applies To	Vendor
   Display	Subtab: Main

3. Click Save.

To create the Custom Class field:

1. Go to Customization > Lists, Records, & Fields > Entity Fields > New.

2. Enter values for each field as listed in the following table:

   Field	Value
   Label	Custom Class
   ID	_custom_class NetSuite prepends ‘custentity’ to this ID.
   Description	Stores class information for a vendor.
   Type	List/Record
   List/Record	Class
   Applies To	Vendor
   Display	Subtab: Main

3. Click Save.

For more information about creating custom entity fields, see the following help topics:

• Creating a Custom Field

• Creating Custom Entity Fields

Step 2: Write the Script

When a field is changed on the Expenses or Items sublist of a vendor bill, the script populates the Department and Class columns on the sublist. If a field on a different sublist is changed, or if a field that’s not on a sublist is changed, no sublist column values are populated.

Script Summary

The following table summarizes the script:

Script: Default Sublist Values
Script Type	SuiteScript 2.x Client Script Type
Modules Used	N/search Module N/currentRecord Module – This module is available to all scripts as a provided context object. You do not need to explicitly load this module as a dependency in your define or require statement, however, you may if you want. This tutorial does not explicitly load this module. N/log Module - This module is available to all scripts as a global object. However, you should explicitly load this module to avoid conflicts with other objects that may be named ‘log’.
Entry Points	fieldChanged(scriptContext)

For more information about script types and entry points, see SuiteScript 2.x Script Types.

The Complete Script

This tutorial includes the complete script along with individual steps you can follow to build the script in logical sections. The complete script is provided below so that you can copy and paste it into your text editor and save the script as a .js file (for example, cs_defaultSublistValues.js).

If you would rather create your script by adding code in logical sections, follow the steps in Build the Script.

Note:

This tutorial script uses the define function, which is required for an entry point script (a script you attach to a script record and deploy). You must use the require function if you want to copy the script into the SuiteScript Debugger and test it. For more information, see SuiteScript Debugger.

Important:

This sample uses SuiteScript 2.1. For more information, see SuiteScript 2.1.

              /**
 * @NApiVersion 2.1
 * @NScriptType ClientScript
 * @NModuleScope SameAccount
 */

define(['N/search', 'N/log'], (search, log) => {
    function fieldChanged(scriptContext) {
        const sublistVal = scriptContext.sublistId;
        if (sublistVal === 'item' || sublistVal === 'expense') {
            const rec = scriptContext.currentRecord;
            const vendorId = rec.getValue({
                fieldId: 'entity'
            });
            if (vendorId === '') {
                return;
            }
            const vendorLookup = search.lookupFields({
                type: search.Type.VENDOR,
                id: vendorId,
                columns: ['custentity_custom_department','custentity_custom_class']
            });
            let classVal = '';
            let deptVal = '';
            classVal = vendorLookup['custentity_custom_class'][0].value;
            deptVal = vendorLookup['custentity_custom_department'][0].value;
            try {
                rec.setCurrentSublistValue({
                    sublistId: sublistVal,
                    fieldId: 'department',
                    value: deptVal,
                    ignoreFieldChange: true
                });
                rec.setCurrentSublistValue({
                    sublistId: sublistVal,
                    fieldId: 'class',
                    value: classVal,
                    ignoreFieldChange: true
                });
            } catch(e) {
                log.debug({
                    title: 'Unable to set record values',
                    details: 'Unable to set record values for department and class'
                });
            }
        }
    }
    return {
        fieldChanged: fieldChanged
    };
}); 

            

Build the Script

You can write the script using a step-by-step approach that includes the following:

• Start with required opening lines

• Create the entry point function

• Check the sublist type

• Get the vendor class and department values

• Set the record department and class fields

• Create the return statement

• Save your script file

Note:

The code snippets included below do not account for indentation. Refer to The Complete Script for suggested indentation.

Start with required opening lines

JSDoc comments and a define function are required at the top of the script file. The JSDoc comments in this script indicate that it is a SuiteScript 2.1 client script. The script uses two SuiteScript modules specified in the define statement:

• N/search – provides access to search functionality

• N/log – allows you to log execution details

Start a new script file using any text editor and place the following JSDoc comments and define function at the top of the file:

Note:

This tutorial script uses the define function, which is required for an entry point script (a script you attach to a script record and deploy). You must use the require function if you want to copy the script into the SuiteScript Debugger and test it. For more information, see SuiteScript Debugger.

                /**
 * @NApiVersion 2.1
 * @NScriptType ClientScript
 * @NModuleScope SameAccount
 */

define(['N/search', 'N/log'], (search, log) => {
}); 

              

Create the entry point function

This script is triggered on the fieldChanged entry point when a column in the Expenses and Items sublist is changed.

Add the following function definition at the top of the define function:

                function fieldChanged(scriptContext) {
} 

              

Check the sublist type

You are only interested in the item and expense sublists so verify that the current sublist is an item or expense sublist.

Add the following code at the top of the fieldChanged function:

                const sublistVal = scriptContext.sublistId;
if (sublistVal === 'item' || sublistVal === 'expense') {
} 

              

Get the vendor class and department values

For item or expense sublists, you need to look up the vendor and retrieve the custom Department and Class fields for the vendor.

Add the following code inside the if statement in the fieldChanged function:

                let rec = scriptContext.currentRecord;
let vendorId = rec.getValue({
    fieldId: 'entity'
});
if (vendorId === '') {
    return;
}
const vendorLookup = search.lookupFields({
    type: search.Type.VENDOR,
    id: vendorId,
    columns: ['custentity_custom_department','custentity_custom_class']
});
const classVal = '';
const deptVal = '';
classVal = vendorLookup['custentity_custom_class'][0].value;
deptVal = vendorLookup['custentity_custom_department'][0].value; 

              

Set the record department and class fields

After you retrieve the custom Department and Class values for the vendor, you want to add those values to the vendor bill record. You will do this in a try-catch block so you can log any errors that might occur while updating the vendor record.

Add the following code inside the if statement in fieldChanged function:

                try {
    rec.setCurrentSublistValue({
         sublistId: sublistVal,
        fieldId: 'department',
        value: deptVal,
        ignoreFieldChange: true
    });
    rec.setCurrentSublistValue({
        sublistId: sublistVal,
        fieldId: 'class',
        value: classVal,
        ignoreFieldChange: true
    });
} catch(e) {
    log.debug({
        title: 'Unable to set record values',
        details: 'Unable to set record values for department and class'
    });
} 

              

Create the return statement

This script associates the fieldChanged function with the fieldChanged client script entry point.

Add the following code immediately above the closing }); in your script:

                return {
    fieldChanged: fieldChanged
}; 

              

Save your script file

You need to save your script file so you can load it to the NetSuite File Cabinet. Before you save your script file, you may want to adjust the indentation so that the script is readable. Refer to The Complete Script for suggested indentation.

When you are happy with how your script file reads, save it as a .js file (for example, cs_defaultSublistValues.js).

Step 3: Create the Script Record

Now that you’ve completed the script, you can upload the script file to the File Cabinet and create a script record for it.

For more information about creating script records, see Creating a Script Record.

To create the script record:

1. Upload your script to the NetSuite File Cabinet.

2. Go to Customization > Scripting > Scripts > New.

3. Select your script from the Script File list and click Create Script Record. The Script page is displayed.

4. On the Script page, enter the following values:

   Field	Value
   Name	Default Sublist Values
   ID	_cs_default_sublist_values NetSuite prepends ‘customscript’ to this ID.
   Description	This script sets the default values for the Department and Class columns in the sublist with the custom field values from the associated vendor record.

5. Optionally set any other fields on the script record as desired.

6. Click Save and Deploy. The Script Deployment page appears. Continue with Step 4: Deploy the Script.

Step 4: Deploy the Script

After you create the script record for your script, you can create a script deployment record for it. A script deployment record determines how, when, and for whom the script runs.

For more information about script deployment records, see Script Deployment.

To deploy the script:

1. Complete the steps in Step 3: Create the Script Record.

2. On the Script Deployment page, enter the following values:

   Field	Value
   Applies To	Vendor Bill
   ID	_cs_default_sublist_values NetSuite prepends 'customdeploy' to this ID.
   Status	Testing The Testing status allows the script owner to test the script without affecting other users in the account.
   Log Level	Debug The Debug level will write all log.debug statements in the script to the Execution Log tab of the script deployment record as well as all errors.
   Audience > Roles	Check Select All

3. Click Save.

Step 5: Test the Solution

After you create the script record and deploy your script, you can test your solution by creating a new vendor record and verifying the values in the Department and Class sublist columns.

To test your solution:

1. Go to Lists > Relationships > Vendors > New to create a new vendor.

2. On the Vendor page, enter the following values:

   Field	Value
   Company Name	Tutorial Vendor
   Category	Select any value, for example, Subcontractor
   Custom Department	Select any value, for example, Service
   Custom Class	Select any value, for example, Recurring Business

3. Click Save.

4. Go to Transactions > Payables > Enter Bills to enter a new bill from the new Tutorial Vendor vendor.

5. On the Bill page, enter the following values:

   Field	Value
   Custom Form	Standard Vendor Bill
   Vendor	Tutorial Vendor
   All remaining required fields	Accept the default values
   Expenses and Items tab: Account	Select any account
   Expenses and Items tab: Amount	Enter any amount

6. Verify that as soon as you enter the Amount value, the Department and Class fields are automatically populated with the values you set when you created the Tutorial Vendor record.

7. You can leave the Bill page without finishing the bill because you only needed to test that the Department and Class fields on the vendor bill were automatically populated.

Related Topics

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Set a Default Posting Period in a Custom Field

Set Purchase Order Exchange Rate

Set the Item Amount to Zero for Marketing Orders

Track Customer Deposit Balances

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General Notices